The Fellowship: Part V
by Kris
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Kristiel struggled with her temper, trying not to lose it. Harming the dwarf was not a good way to begin the quest. Only when she had her temper under control, did she look over at the dwarf.

"Appearances can be deceiving," she said softly, her voice cool as ice.

She turned her gaze to Gandalf and Aragorn.

"I'm going to scout on ahead," she told them.

Aragorn nodded, and Kris teleported out of Rivendell, appearing in a clearing a short distance away. Scanning her surroundings, she knew that she was alone. She leaned back against a tree and sighed. She shouldn't have taken the dwarf's words so seriously. It wasn't his fault that dwarves and elves didn't get along. He had been raised to dislike elves, just as elves had been raised to dislike dwarves. Personally, Kris didn't see why both parties couldn't just forgive and forget. Well, maybe not forget. One can not just forget what happened. It was a part of history. But, they could forgive each other, if they could bring themselves to do so.

Kris sighed again, before straightening. She could hear the Fellowship approaching her location. As she didn't think that she was ready to be around the group, particularly the dwarf, she headed off in the opposite direction, away from the group. She maintained a distance that was far enough where she was out of sight, yet close enough that, if the group had any trouble, she would know.

About mid-day, just before noon, Kris felt the nudge in her head that meant her grandfather wanted to speak with her. She opened her mind to him. He told her that they were stopping for a short break, and would she care to join them? Kris didn't, but told Gandalf that she would be right there.

After closing her mind, she teleported to the place where the group had stopped. She appeared right beside the elf, Legolas. She had remembered who he was the day before, when she had been preparing for this journey. He was a Silvan prince, she had recalled. From Mirkwood. She had seen him a few years ago at Rivendell, when she had been visiting Arwen. He had been arriving, just as Kris was leaving. They had exchanged passing glances, but that was it.

"Amin hiraetha (I'm sorry)," she apologized in Elvish, for she had startled him.

Legolas gave her a nod that said he accepted her apology. The two daggers, that he had drawn at her appearance, were put away. Kris walked over to where Gandalf was sitting talking to one of the hobbits. The other three hobbits were seated close by.

"Kristiel, I'd like you to meet Frodo Baggins," Gandalf said.

"Pleased to meet you," Kris said, holding out her hand.

The young hobbit hesitated, before shaking her hand. One of the other hobbits spoke up.

"I'm Pippin," he said, before pointing to the two hobbits beside him. "And this is Merry and Sam."

"Hello," Kris told them, smiling.

"Can you do other kinds of magic?" Merry asked.

"You know, besides disappearing and then reappearing," Pippin added.

"Yes, I can do other kinds of magic," Kris told them, sharing an amused glance with her grandfather.

"What else can you do?" Sam asked.

Kris felt three pairs, no, make that nine pairs, of eyes focus on her. She looked at Gandalf, to see if it would be all right for her to do a little magic. Nothing big, that would catch the eye of the enemy. Just a few simple parlor tricks. Her grandfather looked thoughtful for a long moment, before he finally nodded. It was safe for her to do magic. Hmm... What could she do?

"Do any of you have a small object?" Kris asked. "Something that can fit in your hand?"

The hobbits searched their pockets, and Pippin pulled a smooth, shiny, black stone from one of his.

"Will this do?" he asked eagerly.

"It's perfect," Kris replied.

She took the stone from him and closed her hand around it, making a fist. She silently said the spell that would make the stone disappear, before reappearing in its original place. In this case, Pippin's pocket. Kris felt the stone leave her hand, and she opened it to show that it was gone. The hobbits, Frodo included, looked at her empty hand with wide eyes.

"Where did it go?" Pippin asked.

"She still has it," the dwarf spoke up. "I've seen this trick before."

Kris looked over at him.

"If I've got the stone," she said. "Then, how can it be in Pippin's pocket?"

Said hobbit reached into his pocket and pulled out the stone. The dwarf looked at it, before giving Kris a grudging look. All four hobbits were examining the stone and Pippin's pocket, trying to figure out how the trick was done.

Kris and Gandalf shared a smile and a knowing look. Her grandfather had often entertained her with the spell when she was quite young. She had never tired of seeing it done, and, as it was one of her favorites, it had been one of the first spells she had learned.

Aragorn approached them and crouched down, before speaking.

"We should be on our way," he said, looking mainly Gandalf. "We have a long way to travel before dark."

Pippin and Merry looked like they were going to protest, but a look from Aragorn stopped whatever they were going to say. Kris gave the two hobbits a smile, knowing that they had wanted to see another trick.

"I'll show you another trick tonight," she told them.

"What is it?" Pippin asked.

Kris shook her head.

"It's a surprise," she said to him. "You'll have to wait and see."

The two hobbits looked at each other, before getting to their feet and picking up their packs. They looked around at the other members of the group who hadn't moved.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Merry asked.

"Yeah," Pippin added. "The sooner we get going, the sooner we get to see what the surprise is."

Kris heard Gandalf softly chuckle at the hobbit's words. She had to agree with her grandfather, although she didn't express it like he did. Hobbits, even if one knew them quite well, never ceased to amaze.

Everyone got to their feet, and they were on their way, once again. This time, Kris remained with the group, bringing up the rear. Aragorn walked in front of her, glancing back at her every so often. Kris knew that he didn't feel right having her at the end of the group, but she had convinced him that it was for the best.

Gandalf led the group, and could protect them with magic from that end. Kris was at the end, and could protect them with magic should anyone try to sneak up on them. This was a very important journey. They could not afford to give the Dark forces any chances to get the One Ring from them.

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